Jumpin' Jakes!

So, we headed up to gma & gpa S's house for a little time in the 'country' a few weekends ago. It's always nice to get out of the city spend some time up there with the fam. The boys always have a blast and this time was no exception. Actually it was probably the time of their lives!

We were having one of those brutally freezing March Saturdays and were trying to kill time after naps and before dinner. My mom remembered a new place that had just opened up in the old skating rink that I grew up going to (it was called "Upskate NY", awesome right?!? I actually never got the joke until I was in college). Anyway, now it's 'Jumpin' Jakes'. Those of you in the 'burbs might have lots of experience with these kinds of places and I'm super jealous! It was an indoor bounce house... and it was Gabriel's dream come true. Seriously, it was the best day of his little 2-year old life so far. The child did not stop moving... hence the blurry pictures!

Now they just need to open one of these in the city!

I think these are enough said:

***While we were at gma's, Noah had a funny observation. He asked me why everyone is always sleeping around gma's house. It took me a minute to figure out what he meant by that and I finally realized that he was noticing how quiet it was up there as compared to the noisy city! Hilarious.***

CPZ

Okay, once again... I'm re-committing myself to the blog. I don't know why I go through so many phases with this and just can't keep up any kind of consistency. But I've been motivated by my friend Sarah who recently printed her blog and since my children will have little to show by the way of baby books, I figure this may be their only shot at any recollection of their childhood! AND I want them to see that we actually did do fun stuff :)

So, here it goes... A hint of spring in NYC brought 60 degree temps and a must-do trip to the Central Park Zoo. We field-tripped it downtown with our friends E & A and had a lovely afternoon. My pics are terrible, as shown by the back of Noah's head in every shot (my goodness he has a big head!) But good times were had, nonetheless. And for a CPZ first, all of the animals were cooperating beautifully... we even finally saw that cute red panda up close. And check out the snow leopard... he's always hiding and he was finally out!

Hooray for spring and 60 degree weather in NYC. Now, if it would only stick around longer than a day, that would be something to blog about!

checking out the monkeys

snow leopard

a little duck trivia for G

we never got lost with these tour guides!

SPRING!

tightening things up, Supernanny style

It is time... as much as I hate to admit it... it is time! After the holiday craziness, then the weeks on end of SOMEONE being sick, and the lack of any desire to brave the outdoors in this wicked winter we're having... we NEED to get back into a routine. Like a REAL routine, Supernanny style!

For the past few weeks I've been getting the impression that I need to tighten up our daily routine and run things a little bit more rigidly around here for awhile. Goodness knows why. Could it be my Leapster-loving/Spongebob-watching/back-talking 4-year-old? Or my youtube-addicted/pacifier-obsessing/ice-cream-demanding/temper-tantrumy/**crib-escaping almost-2-year old (yes, he's kind of a disaster right now)? And yes, I'll admit it. We got into some BAD habits when we were all taking turns being sick, and then the habits somehow creeped into our routine. And it's time, OH, it's past time to kick things back into gear.

I actually sat down to write this post and before I started, I was just clicking through some of my friends' blogs - I actually went straight to Erin's, who I haven't been great about keeping up on, and the first post was EXACTLY what I've been thinking about lately. So, I hope she doesn't mind that I'll just send you there and do some follow-up thoughts.

It is rare around this city to find SAHM's with no housekeepers, part-time nannies, or chauffers for their children. And it is so easy for me to get sucked into thoughts that there is no way I can handle doing everything I need to do for this family especially in this city. I seriously get the craziest looks when I am toting my toddler to pick up my preschooler everyday. Almost like, "don't you have someone to do that for you?" Honestly, somedays I wish I did! But most days I wouldn't have it any other way. This is what I chose and I want to do it well, REALLY well! I even love the rarity that it is here. I really do feel unique. I love that phrase 'parenting with precision' because it so clearly describes how the Lord cares for us and how we should care for our own families.

So, I'm letting stuff go... a lot of stuff (well, I'm holding onto a few things, but that's for another post!). And I'm refocusing. My Supernanny schedule is made, soon to be written on posterboard and posted on the kitchen wall. Every half-hour is scheduled so we all stay on track and everyone gets the right amount of attention/food/playtime/SLEEP!/screentime (not gone, but limited!)/and most importantly LOVE that they need. I even went so far as to schedule the 3 hours after the kids go to bed so the Mr. and I stay in check too (oh snap! it's 8:59pm - only one more minute of computer time left!)

It's day 3 of the new routine, and I'm in heaven. I feel accomplished at the end of the day, the kids are behaving much better, and we're all enjoying each other a little more. Ah, sanity! (At least for now.)

better go, Jon's turn for the computer!

**

(Gabriel finally fell asleep on the floor after escaping from his crib and tearing up his room... this has to end!!!)